The Muslim Council of Montreal (MCM) is an umbrella organization representing number of Muslim institutions in the Montreal region.

Open letter from Muslim Council of Montreal to MNA Ms. Monique Richard

December 6, 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

December 6th,
2010

Dear Ms.
Richard,

On behalf of the
Muslim Council of Montreal (MCM), I would like to thank you for your commitment
to preserving the values and ideals of Quebec, which is something we all hold
dear. However, we believe that your recent comments against the Dar Al Iman
School’s eligibility for government subsidies go against these very values that
you are supposed to be upholding, and serve no purpose except to increase
sentiments of prejudice and discrimination against the Quebec Muslim
communities.

Your comments, not backed with substantial
evidence, deny the school their right to due process and label them as guilty
by means of alleged association. In doing so, you have wronged not only the
school itself, but also the parents, students and teachers of the school and
you have singled them all out for attack, when in fact they are all tax paying,
law abiding, contributing members of Quebec society, sharing the same values
and ideals as the rest of society.

Such accusations against the
school lack the required objectivity and evidence to adequately assess the
situation. This attack against the school is based on the emotional rhetoric of
those with a specific agenda to marginalize the Muslim community and negate its
contribution to the wider Quebec society. The Dar Al Iman School follows the
curriculum set by the Quebec Ministry of Education, with the addition of Arabic
language, morality and religious studies lessons, and has been eligible for
state funding since the 2006-07 academic year. The school has nothing to hide
and is open to a transparent and balanced assessment, should you wish to
explore the issue properly. If you have any evidence of any organization
engaging in wrong doing, then that should be brought forward, instead of merely
passing along rumors and accusations. Such an approach to investigating the
facts is more productive than the haphazard use of labels and fixing blame
without any evidence.

In closing,
please remember that an elected member of the National Assembly of Quebec, you
are called to represent all citizens of Quebec, regardless of their gender,
colour, ethnicity, faith or socioeconomic background. Your duty to your
government and to your nation calls on you to safeguard the rights and
liberties of all those you speak on behalf of and to work with all communities
towards securing a united, prosperous future for Quebec, built upon justice,
equality and social harmony for all.

The Muslim Council of Montreal (MCM) is an umbrella
organization representing a number of Islamic institutions in the Montreal
region. There are over 225,000 Muslims in Montreal, about 1,000,000 in Canada
and 1.7 billion worldwide.